Newton Aycliffe man wins IATF axe throwing European Championships

Carl Howe from Newton Aycliffe starting throwing axes as his latest hobby after trying his hand at sword fighting, acting, and professional wrestling.

The 35-year-old first tried the sport back in 2016 but has now moved his way up through the ranks to win the European Championships last weekend (January 28/29) and is preparing to compete internationally this summer.

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Carl told The Northern Echo: “Me and my wife Kat won a competition to go to an axe throwing venue back in 2016 and I was terrible at it.

Mid throw... Carl says axe-throwing started out as a ridiculous hobby but he soon rocketed up the sport's ranks. (Image: STUART BOULTON)

“But Kat was really good which annoyed me, so I built a target at home and kept practicing and got really into it.

“I’ve had a long history of ridiculous hobbies – I was a sword fighter and professional wrestler – so this is one of the more tame ones.”

Carl kept practicing and he and Kat, 31, decided to open their own venue, Valhalla North Axe Throwing, in Newton Aycliffe back in 2019.

He said: “I never really enjoyed working for other people, so we decided to give opening our own business a go and try to make a job out of a hobby."

Valhalla North is one of just four venues in the UK affiliated with the International Axe Throwing Federation (IATF) and hosts regular in-house competitions and leagues.

Carl opened his own IATF affiliated axe-throwing venue Valhalla North in Newton Aycliffe in 2019. (Image: STUART BOULTON)

“It’s only been about a year and a half that I’ve been competing but apparently I’m pretty good at it. Me and Kat both got quite good quite quickly and both compete,” Carl added.

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“We went out to the World Championships in Toronto last year but I let the nerves get the better of me and I was very much out of my depth. I’m hoping it’ll go better this time, but it very much depends on the day.

“I won the European Championships in London at the weekend and am going to the World Championships in Toronto, Canada again in June.

Carl Howe is European axe-throwing champion. (Image: STUART BOULTON)

“Last time I checked I was ranked 23rd in the world of about 20,000 registered throwers.”

To win points throwers must land their axe in one of three rings on the board, and professionals even have their own specialist axes for the job.

“At any time when we’re flying for a competition we’ve got about £1,000 worth of axes in the hold of the plane. We have to check with the airline to make sure we’re fine to take them,” Carl said.

Champion... some of Carl's axe-throwing 'silverware' (Image: STUART BOULTON)

Newton Aycliffe will play host to the UK Open in August when some of the world’s best axe-throwers will travel to Carl and Kat’s venue to compete.

He will play in the World Championships in Toronto on June 11 and 12.

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